again when a short teener with
straight blond hair stepped out from behind a fragment of standing wall.
“Back, huh?” asked the blond kid.
George felt the shadows of others gathering
behind him.
George said, “I’m looking for a pocket
watch I lost the night you guys beat me up. I mean, it’s really an antique, and
it reminds me of someone. I’ve got to find it.”
He looked at the ground, turning around in a
circle. There was a, circle of feet all around him, feet standing in ruined
doorways, feet on top of mounds of rubble, the clubs resting on the ground as
the owners leaned on them, the chains swinging slightly.
“You must be really stupid,” said the
leader, his teeth showing in a small smile that had no friendship.
Where was Carl Hodges? The area George stood in
was clean, probably well used by feet. The stairs leading down to a cellar door
were clean, the door handle had the shine of use. The leader had appeared late,
from an unlikely direction. He was standing on dusty, rubble-piled ground
which feet had not rubbed and cleared. The leader then had not wanted to come
out the usual way and path to confront George. Probably the usual way would
have been the door George was facing, the one that looked used.
It was like playing hot and cold for a hidden
object. If Carl Hodges was behind that door, the teeners would not let George
approach it. George, looking slow and confused, shuffled his feet two steps in
that direction. There was a simultaneous shuffle and hiss of clothing as the
circle behind him and all around him closed in closer. George stopped and they
stopped.
Now there was a circle of armed teeners close
around him. Two were standing almost between him and the steps. The helicopter
still buzzed in the distance, circling the blocks. George knew if he shouted,
or even spoke clearly, and asked for help the copter pilot would bring the
plane over in a count of seconds.
The blond kid did not move, still lounging,
flashing his teeth in a small smile as he studied George up and down with the
expression of a scientist at a zoo studying an odd specimen of gorilla.
“I got something important to tell
you,” George said to him. But they didn’t listen.
“It’s a kind of a shame,” the blond
kid said to the others. “He’s so stupid already. I mean, if we just bashed
out his brains he wouldn’t even notice they were gone.”
George faced the leader and sidled another small
step in the direction of the steps and the door, and heard the shuffle of feet
closing in behind him. He stopped moving and they stopped moving. For sure that
door was hiding something. They wanted to keep strangers away from it!
“Look, if you found my watch I lost, and if you give it to me, I’ll tell
you about a thing you ought to know.”
If he talked long and confusingly enough, every
member of the gang would come out on the surface to hear what he was trying to
say. They would all be out in the open. The helicopter was armed for riots; it
could spray sleep gas and get every one of them.
He didn’t even feel the blow. Suddenly he was on
his knees, a purple haze before his eyes. He tried to get up and fell over
sideways, still in the curled-up position. He realized he wasn’t breathing.
Could a back-of-the-neck karate chop knock out
your breathing centers? What had the teacher said? His lungs contracted,
wheezing out more air, unable to let air in. It must have been a solar plexus
jab with a stick. But then how come he hadn’t seen the stick? The purple haze
was turning into spinning black spots. He couldn’t see.
“What was it he wanted to tell us?”
“Ask him.”
“He can’t answer, dummy. He can’t even
grunt. You’ll have to wait.”
“I don’t mind waiting,” said the voice
of the one carrying a chain. George heard the chain whistle and slap into
something, and wondered if it had hit him. Nothing in his body registered
anything but a red burning need for air.
“You don’t want to trespass on
straight blond hair stepped out from behind a fragment of standing wall.
“Back, huh?” asked the blond kid.
George felt the shadows of others gathering
behind him.
George said, “I’m looking for a pocket
watch I lost the night you guys beat me up. I mean, it’s really an antique, and
it reminds me of someone. I’ve got to find it.”
He looked at the ground, turning around in a
circle. There was a, circle of feet all around him, feet standing in ruined
doorways, feet on top of mounds of rubble, the clubs resting on the ground as
the owners leaned on them, the chains swinging slightly.
“You must be really stupid,” said the
leader, his teeth showing in a small smile that had no friendship.
Where was Carl Hodges? The area George stood in
was clean, probably well used by feet. The stairs leading down to a cellar door
were clean, the door handle had the shine of use. The leader had appeared late,
from an unlikely direction. He was standing on dusty, rubble-piled ground
which feet had not rubbed and cleared. The leader then had not wanted to come
out the usual way and path to confront George. Probably the usual way would
have been the door George was facing, the one that looked used.
It was like playing hot and cold for a hidden
object. If Carl Hodges was behind that door, the teeners would not let George
approach it. George, looking slow and confused, shuffled his feet two steps in
that direction. There was a simultaneous shuffle and hiss of clothing as the
circle behind him and all around him closed in closer. George stopped and they
stopped.
Now there was a circle of armed teeners close
around him. Two were standing almost between him and the steps. The helicopter
still buzzed in the distance, circling the blocks. George knew if he shouted,
or even spoke clearly, and asked for help the copter pilot would bring the
plane over in a count of seconds.
The blond kid did not move, still lounging,
flashing his teeth in a small smile as he studied George up and down with the
expression of a scientist at a zoo studying an odd specimen of gorilla.
“I got something important to tell
you,” George said to him. But they didn’t listen.
“It’s a kind of a shame,” the blond
kid said to the others. “He’s so stupid already. I mean, if we just bashed
out his brains he wouldn’t even notice they were gone.”
George faced the leader and sidled another small
step in the direction of the steps and the door, and heard the shuffle of feet
closing in behind him. He stopped moving and they stopped moving. For sure that
door was hiding something. They wanted to keep strangers away from it!
“Look, if you found my watch I lost, and if you give it to me, I’ll tell
you about a thing you ought to know.”
If he talked long and confusingly enough, every
member of the gang would come out on the surface to hear what he was trying to
say. They would all be out in the open. The helicopter was armed for riots; it
could spray sleep gas and get every one of them.
He didn’t even feel the blow. Suddenly he was on
his knees, a purple haze before his eyes. He tried to get up and fell over
sideways, still in the curled-up position. He realized he wasn’t breathing.
Could a back-of-the-neck karate chop knock out
your breathing centers? What had the teacher said? His lungs contracted,
wheezing out more air, unable to let air in. It must have been a solar plexus
jab with a stick. But then how come he hadn’t seen the stick? The purple haze
was turning into spinning black spots. He couldn’t see.
“What was it he wanted to tell us?”
“Ask him.”
“He can’t answer, dummy. He can’t even
grunt. You’ll have to wait.”
“I don’t mind waiting,” said the voice
of the one carrying a chain. George heard the chain whistle and slap into
something, and wondered if it had hit him. Nothing in his body registered
anything but a red burning need for air.
“You don’t want to trespass on
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